


Strawberries and city lights

by PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)



Series: Birthday Series [6]
Category: HALO (Korea Band), JO1 (Japan Band), ORBIT (Japan Band), Produce 101 (Japan TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Birthday Party, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Song Lyrics, M/M, Past Kim Heecheon/Kawanishi Takumi, Post-Break Up, the usual chaos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus
Summary: It took him a while, but Takumi had finally moved on from his ex. Just for said ex to show up on his birthday...Luckily, there is still Ren who is on his side to help him.
Relationships: Kawanishi Takumi/Kawashiri Ren
Series: Birthday Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698286
Kudos: 14





	Strawberries and city lights

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist for this AU (link in twitter)  
> BLACKPINK - Stay  
> BIGBANG – Love Song  
> MAMAMOO – Wind Flower  
> Remiororen – Konayuki (also sang by Heecheon)  
> Flower - Yasashisade Afureruyouni  
> G-Dragon (feat. Rosé) - Without you  
> (TM Revolution – Hot Limit)  
> ONEWE - Regulus  
> BIGBANG – Feeling

Takumi had known from the start that their time had been limited.  
It was the nature of an exchange program that it lasted one year only. Yet he had hoped that they would find some way to continue their relationship after Heecheon’s return to South Korea. After all it was the 21st century and there was more than one method to stay in contact. However, the older one broke up with him at the airport.  
“I’m sorry Takumi, but it’s better this way” were his last words before departing and leaving a broken-hearted Takumi at the airport. 

It was such a shock that Takumi didn’t even remember how he left the airport and returned home that day. He only remembered that at one point his former roommate Ren had showed up with strawberry ice cream and DVDs to distract him. 

It was meant to make him feel better, but at first Takumi was feeling even worse. He knew that Ren had feelings for him. It had been obvious how broken he was when Takumi had asked him to change rooms, so that he could live with his now ex boyfriend. Ren had accepted that, yes, but Takumi saw how forced his smile had been on that day.  
That’s why it took him days – besides Ren being at his room almost the whole time – to ask him if they could become roommates again. 

Naturally, Ren agreed on the spot, yet as happy as Takumi was about not to being alone during the first weeks after the break up, he felt like walking on eggshells. He didn’t want to hurt his friend. He might not feel the same as the silver haired one, but Ren was someone important and dear to him.  
Especially, because Ren was always there for him when he needed him and gave him space at other times without questioning anything. It was unlike some other friends of Takumi (mainly Keigo who always came into his room unannounced besides not even living in the student dorms), thus making him crave the presence of Ren in some way at some point. The silver haired one had a talent in reading the moods of people, thus making the communication easy with him. 

Eventually after some time had passed, when Takumi’s birthday was close, he finally felt like he had moved on from the heartbreak. The older Korean man didn’t occupy his thoughts 24/7 anymore and for the first time in a while he started to look forward to things, mainly he looked forward to his birthday.  
It was supposed to be a surprise party, but Junki and Keigo couldn’t keep a secret. It was hilarious how easy they were caught and ultimately even Ren admitted that they were planning something. Takumi was glad about catching them due to him being not the biggest fan of surprises. Usually surprises didn't turn out well in his life.  
However, there was a surprise on his birthday, an unwelcome one.

When Takumi woke up that morning, he was alone. Ren had lessons at the dance school every Tuesday morning, so it was normal to wake up alone on that day. Actually, he was glad about it because he expected the party later to be chaotic and he needed to charge himself for that. When there was a knock on the door, he assumed that it was his roommate who had forgotten something.  
However, when he opened the door, it wasn’t his forgetful roommate but his ex-boyfriend, holding a heart shaped strawberry box. 

One part of Takumi wanted to close to the door on the spot, yet he was too shocked by his sudden appearance; his body and mind turning into stone.  
“Happy birthday, Kumi.” The tall Korean seemed to insecure what he should say next and it took a moment for him to continue. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have broken up with you back then. I missed you so much.”  
The strawberry box was pushed into Takumi’s arms and the other one wanted to enter when Takumi finally found his strength again and slammed the door shut. 

“Kumi, I’m sorry!” He heard from the other side, yet Takumi was still lost for words. Why did his ex appear today? Why today? Why did it happen when he thought he had moved on?  
It was supposed to be happy day. Yet he could feel that his heart started to hurt again.  
While his head was still spinning because it was unable to process the events moments ago, a message in a long deserted chatroom.  
**HEECHO:** _I’m waiting at our favourite café._  
Since the breakup Takumi hadn’t been to that café anymore even thought it had been his favourite one way before meeting the taller Korean. However, now the place represented just too many memories, too many feelings of a another time making him unable to return. 

At the same time, for some reason he started to be incredibly mad at the strawberries he just received.  
They were such a stupid gift. He wanted to throw them away, yet as a student wasting food was a no-go. Still he didn’t want to eat or see them... They deserved the trash can and his ex should follow them there.  
Hoping that Ren might like those he put the strawberries into the refrigerator anyway. 

Speaking of Ren when his roommate came home after noon, he came along with a special birthday menu containing a cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake from the café Heecheon was currently waiting at.  
“Happy Birthday Takkun!”, he said brightly smiling. “That might not be my real birthday gift for you, but I couldn’t help but get something for you on my way home.”  
It was Ren’s habit to spoil him. A habit which had become even worse after that awful breakup. Sometimes he felt bad about that but at the same time it felt good to be taken care off.  
“Thank you.” He took the food, yet Ren looked strangely at him, like seeing right into his mind. He was reading him like an open book once again.

“I guess it was really him.” The silver haired dancer suddenly said.  
“Hm?”  
“When I bought the milkshake for you, I thought I saw Heecheon at the store. I couldn’t believe my eyes but you look like you are ready to cry again, so I guess it was him.”  
The birthday boy could only nod at that conclusion. 

Sometimes Takumi hated how observant his friend was. It had its perks, yes, but in situations like now he didn’t want anyone to know. Once people knew they would ask questions and he didn’t want to answer those.  
Luckily it was Ren who found it out. Ren was different than his other friends. If it had been Junki or Keigo, they wouldn’t shut up now. But Ren… he didn’t say anything, he just took Takumi into his arms and held him tightly.  
For a while the birthday boy enjoyed the closeness but there was still his lunch, so he broke the hug. 

“He is waiting for me there.” Takumi eventually said.  
“I thought so.”  
“He was here earlier. Bought me a heart shaped strawberry box as a gift.”  
“Did you throw them into his face?”  
“No, they are in the refrigerator. Wasting food is bad.” 

Ren nodded and started to caress Takumi's head to make him feel better. “Will you meet him?”  
“I don’t know. I’m confused.”  
“Should I go to him and tell him that you need time?”  
“No thank you.” Ren’s offer was tempting yet after being left on read with a broken heart for months, he wanted to make his ex wait. He should suffer in some way, too. 

When it was finally time for the party, Takumi had pushed his ex-boyfriend into some corner of his mind because he wanted to enjoy the evening. He wanted to have fun and forget the man who broke his heart. Because Keigo had whole house on his own, his place had become their inoffcial party location. All of his friends could fit there, so Takumi had agreed to let his party happen there.  
Once more something unexpected happened.

When he and Ren arrived at Keigo’s house, everything seemed to be normal. They were not the last ones to arrive but also not the first ones. Of course, Keigo was there and wherever Keigo was Junki was close, too. Takumi had met both guys in his classes. They were all from the sports department, yet with different focuses. The two extroverts somehow adopted tthe introvert Takumi during their shared classes and since then they were friends.  
Syoya, Shion, Sukai and Shosei or shortly called S4 had also arrived already which surprised him. Usually the four boys where known to be late. Originally, he had met them via Ren because they were training at the same dance school as him and sometimes he met Syoya and Shion who were also sport majors but in the year below him in his classes, too. 

A few moments after their arrival Sho, Junki’s cousin, and Ruki arrived, too. Ruki was another person he had met via Ren because those shared the same major.  
As the most trustable one among them, Sho had been the one to bring a cake and judging from the size of the box it was a huge one. It embarrassed Takumi a little to see how his friends wanted to spoil him. Not just the cake was huge, but the table with the gifts was filled, too.

Next up were his childhood friends Raira and Hico who both greeted him with a big smile and a hug.  
So far everything had gone well, but then Issei arrived together with Heecheon. 

Issei was another kid from the dance school where Ren worked part-time and he was majoring in Korean. Formally, he had gotten help from one of Heecheon’s friends during their stay, yet he was close with Takumi’s ex, too.  
“Surprise! You won’t believe who I met at the bus stop!” 

Only Takumi’s closest friends had known about their relationship and Issei was one of the people who didn’t know about it. It wasn't like they weren't friends, but Takumi was just a private person who didn't feel comfortable with sharing things to a lot of people. Thus he couldn’t blame their youngest to bring him over yet seeing him again was another stab into his heart.  
Heecheon was also visibly uncomfortable about the situation. “Hello everyone. It’s been a while.” 

To be exact, it had been 211 days since he had left Japan and Takumi. Out of those 211 days Takumi had suffered at least 200 ones. To say he wasn’t happy to see him again was an understatement. If it wasn’t for the efforts of his friends, he would have left the party on the spot. He just had started to feel like he was healed from the breakup and now Heecheon was back and Takumi's mind started to spin again. It didn't feel right to see him again.

Again, he was frozen on the spot, unable to react to the presence of his ex-boyfriend. Again, he was unable to react, his mind had another shutdown. Memories, the good and the bad ones, occupied his mind and it felt like an eternity until he felt something else than the mess of his mind. 

It was Ren’s arm which was laid around his shoulders, pulling him closer to the grey haired one and pulling his mind back to reality. His midn might have been back to the reality, but at the same time, he became hyperaware of Ren’s actions.  
“What a surprise to see you here.” To most people Ren sounded friendly, yet if you knew him as well as Takumi did, you heard the dangerous undertone in his slightly deeper voice than normally. Also, being this close to him, Takumi could feel him tremble as if he had a hard time not to attack the taller Korean guy. 

While Heecheon's presence made Takumi uncomfortable in some way, he didn’t want a fight to break out. It was his birthday which was meant to be a joyful occasion. Ren’s arm around him had helped him to calm down, thus the birthday boy assumed it could also work the other way around, leading him to lay his arm around Ren’s hips. 

It made his roommate stop trembling, yet it also had a second unexpected effect.  
When Heecheon saw that action, a sad smile appeared on his face. “I understand.” It seemed like he wanted to leave, yet some of their shared friends made their way over to him and started to catch up on their daily lives. 

Meanwhile Takumi was still confused about the whole situation. Why was his ex back? Why were his feelings a mess? Why had Ren such a calming effect on him?  
The whole situation didn’t make sense to him and it made him want to flee the party. Yet for the sake of his friends he stayed. 

Now that everyone had arrived, the cake was revealed and it was indeed a huge one, shaped like a strawberry. While everyone was singing for him, Takumi blew out the candles, wishing for the next year to be less chaotic than the previous one. 

However, in his circle of friends chaos was the normal state, so once the candles were blown out, his face was smashed into the cake. He knew the culprit on the spot: Shion. It was his weird way of saying happy birthday.  
Sho, of course, scolded him for that, yet for some reason Takumi didn’t even mind it. It took his mind off from his earlier thoughts and it was kind off funny. Fun was what he needed the most in that moment, so he let that slide for now.

Junki handed him a towel to clean himself, yet both Keigo and Ren shameless took cream from his face with their fingers and ate it. That Keigo didn’t know any shame was no surprise to Takumi, but that Ren did the same was the unexpected part. Usually besides his feelings for the birthday boy, he was much shyer around him. For some reason due his roommate's actions Takumi's cheeks became warm and he was glad that he could hide his face by pretending to clean it. The day and his feelings become weirder each moment.

After the cake and gifts were distributed - Indeed Takumi got another gift from Ren, a remodeled jeans coat - Junki took over the job of the unofficial host of the party and announced a karaoke competition. While all guests loved music, their singing abilities varied greatly, so the competition was another funny mess.

It was all fun until Heecheon sang. Of course, he had picked a love song and of course it was a sad one. His voice was still beautiful and for a moment Takumi was back in the past.  
They were alone in a karaoke room and the older one sang only for him. They used to do that often - a cheap but fun date idea. 

_powdered-snow, even too fragile before the eternity  
fell and became stain upon the rough asphalt  
powdered-snow, in such time unreliable, shaking my heart  
even so, I want to keep on protecting you…  
powdered-snow, until our hearts become white-dyed  
wrap up our loneliness, return it to the sky _

Again, it was Ren who pulled him back to reality. His hand squeezed Takumi’s one and the pink haired one realised that he was dreaming of the past. No matter how beautiful his ex singing still was, they wouldn’t be able to go back to who they were. Too much time had passed and Takumi had been too hurt. Even if they tried anew, it was doomed and would end in pain again. Their time was beautiful but it was a thing of the past now.

Also, it was Ren who took over the microphone next and while he sang his gaze never left Takumi’s one. 

_You taught me the meaning of life  
And the joy that comes from it  
I feel like I can say, “I think I’ll be alright”  
I want to see you now, see your smiling face  
It’s as if everything that surrounds you is overflowing with kindness  
I’ll keep on loving you with all my heart, without any hesitation  
I’ll always be by your side _

The song felt like a confession and maybe it was even one. It was rare for Ren to pick a love song during karaoke. The grey haired one preferred songs during which he could show off his dancing skills, yet this time he was standing still, his gaze never leaving Takumi’s one.  
The moment felt like magic. Not one that made him return to the past, but one that make him enjoy the present more. While it made Takumi’s heart beat faster, he felt at peace at the same time. Ren's singing had something comforting and it stopped the chaos inside of his head. His soft voice had something soothing, like the sea breeze on a hot summer day.

The song ended far too soon and the microphone was pushed into his hands. Takumi had no idea what he should sing, so he just picked a song from his favourite artist. And somehow the lyrics fit. 

_My heart is just like the first time  
But now it’s filled with scars because of you  
We keep changing, at your cold voice  
I cool down too  
We’ve grown so far apart to turn things back _

After his song ended Junki started to complain about the lack of fun songs and forced poor little Syoya to sing “Hot Limit” to hype everyone up again. It worked, making all guests joining him in the chorus.

Takumi took this moment to get some fresh air on the outside. His social batteries were drained faster than usually and he wanted to go home to recharge. Yet the party had barely started and it was one for him. He had to stay a little longer. 

While it was already the end of June a rain shower earlier had cooled the air and Takumi had forgotten to take his coat with him. Right in the moment he wanted to return inside, he felt something heavy draped on him.  
“It's okay. Come back when you are ready.”  
Ren was about to return inside, but Takumi stopped him. “You can stay if you want.”  
He might have wanted to be alone, but Ren's presence was as warm as his coat.

However, they didn’t stay alone for a while. The problem of the day suddenly came outside, too.  
“You two are cute together.” There was a sad smile on his face. “I’m sorry for what I did. I know now it was wrong. I thought I could fix it today, but I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy now.”  
Takumi had no idea what the older was talking about, but apparently Ren had one because he was pulled closer to him.  
“I just wanted to say I’m leaving now. I’m staying here for a few days, so maybe if you want, we can meet and talk a bit. Ren, you can come, too, if you don’t trust me with your boyfriend alone.” 

That statement made Takumi perplexed. Did Heecheon really think that he and Ren were a couple?  
Surely, they’ve grown closer after the breakup, but they were far from being a couple, weren’t they?  
His feelings regarding his roommate had been weird today, but that was the fault of his ex appearing, wasn’t it?  
“See you.” 

“See you.” The farewell felt like closure, just unlike the one months ago. Takumi didn’t want to cry, too much tears he had wasted on the other one already, yet when he left, tears started to drop from his eyes. Immediately upon Ren noticing his tears he was pulled him closer and stroked his back.  
Again, it was Ren who was there for him. Again, Ren comforted him. Again, Ren was the one who dried his tears.  
In this moment Takumi realised that maybe Ren wouldn’t be a bad boyfriend. 

After his last tears for his former boyfriend had finally stopped, Takumi and Ren returned inside and of course their prolonged absence was noticed.  
“I can’t believe you hid to make out in my house!”  
“We didn’t-” Takumi wanted to argue against his friends, yet they were just too loud.  
“It was to be expected that you two would become a couple sooner or later, but you should have told us.”  
“We-” Ren also had no chance to clear the situation.  
“Wanted to tell us later? But why not from the start?” 

However, was there even a point in arguing against their friends, Takumi wondered. Ren’s presence had been comforting all the day, no, all the time. He was someone Takumi could imagine having at his side. No, that was wrong, too. Ren was on his side already. But it wasn’t... official yet? Neither of them had said those magic words yet. At the same time, he also doubted it was necessary at this point. Everyone seemed to think there was something between them already. Still, it didn’t feel right yet. Something was missing. Maybe that something was a confession. But he didn’t want to make one in front of everyone. 

While the upcoming hours were more fun than the previous ones, eventually Takumi’s social batteries were fully drained. Keigo wanted everyone to sleep at his house, but the birthday boy needed his own home, his own bed to be able to recharge. Ren also declined the offer which caused some suggestive comments, but in reality, his main reason was to help to carry Takumi's gifts. 

As they both lacked a car, they had to take the bus home. It was empty so both decided to take the seats in the very back of it. Takumi liked the quiet atmosphere the town radiated at night. The night and the lights of the buildings painted a beautiful picture and without realising it he started to sing again. 

_You shine more than the neon signs  
I’m scared that you might leave  
Everything about this brilliant night is intense but  
I’m getting turned on at this moment  
Do wanna be together today? _

“Can I extend the offer to forever? I want to be with you not just today.” Ren had moved closer to him and cupped his check.  
“Sure.” The word had barely his lips when they were sealed with Ren’s ones. It was a timid kiss from Ren’s part, still careful not to break any of Takumi’s boundaries, so this time the pink haired one took over the initiative by laying his arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer. He wanted this. He wanted to have Ren on his side now. He wanted to have his mind messed up and his heart beating faster by his roommate and new lover. He was the one Takumi needed. 

"Thank you, Ren.” There wasn’t just one particular thing he was thankful. It was everything Ren had done for him in the recent months, days and hours. Ren had helped him to heal and Takumi couldn’t help but fall in love to him for this. Without Ren he wouldn’t feel as happy as he was feeling right now.  
“Happy birthday, my love.”  
Now his birthday was indeed a happy one and he hoped to spend many more with his lover under the city lights.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Takumi!  
> I'm most likely the last HeeKumi shipper on this planet but it's just my favourite pdjp angst ship haha  
> But we all know that I would never let RenKumi sink  
> I hope you enjoyed this story and the playlist I made for it.  
> Please leave your thoughts and see ya~


End file.
